The invention is directed to an apparatus for securing a ladder in a desired position, and in particular to such an apparatus that is used to secure a ladder to a ferromagnetic surface.
Portable ladders, and in particular the leaning-type extension ladders usually constructed of aluminum or fiberglass, are well known in the art. Such ladders are commonly employed for many industrial applications where a worker much reach a relatively high area in order to perform, for example, a maintenance or repair operation.
In order to prevent slippage and resulting injury due to a fall, it is a common safety practice to tie or otherwise secure the top of a portable leaning-type ladder to the adjacent surface during its use. In certain applications, however, it is not practical to tie or secure the ladder to the adjacent surface. One common such application encountered is when a worker uses a portable ladder to reach a relatively high point on a large storage tank, such as are commonly used to store oil and other industrial liquids. Various points on these storage tanks must be reached for a number of reasons, including maintenance and painting. The sides of these tanks are typically smooth, and contain no readily available means by which the top of a ladder may be secured. As a result, workers have no alternative but to use these ladders without securing them in place, which creates a significant safety risk for the worker. The risk to the worker is particularly great since painting and related work on a tank may require the worker to lean sideward from the ladder, increasing the risk that the ladder may slip during use.
It may also be seen that tying or other common means to secure the top of a portable, leaning-type ladder to a surface requires that a worker reach the top of the ladder before the ladder may be secured in place. Thus the worker is at risk until the worker reaches the top of the ladder and is able to complete the operation of securing the ladder in place. The movements necessary for the worker to secure the ladder in place may themselves lead to a slippage of the ladder, thus creating a risk associated with the very act intended to increase the safety of the further use of the ladder.
It may be seen from the above discussion that an apparatus for securing a portable ladder when there is no readily available surface to secure the top of the ladder in place would be highly desirable. Likewise, a means of securing the top of a portable ladder in place that does not require the worker to first climb the ladder would also be highly desirable.
References mentioned in this background section are not admitted to be prior art with respect to the present invention.